Can-top fastener



Sept 18 3&2.

A. G. CANBY CAN TOP FASTENER Filed March Patented Sept. 18, 1923. v

AMOS G. CANDY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

CLAN-TOP FASTENER.

Application filed-March 27, 1922. Serial No. 547,032.

T 0 all 'IllI-OIIL it 11211- cmwcrn:

Be it known that I, Arms G. CANDY, a

citizen of the United States of America, re

siding at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful, Improvements in Can- Top Fasteners, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Fruit cans and many kinds of containers are )rovided with lids or closures that looseiy or frictionally feed on the mouth of the can or container and in the instance of fruit cans such lids or closures are adapted to be sealed about the mouth of the can by wax. solder or other sealing material so as to hermetically close the can and permit of fruit and other perishable matter being preserved therein. By removing the wax or sealing material the can and its lid may again be used for preserving or other purposes and in order to prevent such a lid or closure from becoming accidentally displaced I have devised a novel can top fastener which may be easily and quickly placed in position to prevent the can top, lid or closure from being lost.

Again. cans or receptacles having detachable lids or closures are often used for the storage. of granular matter, for instance, coffee or sugar and such cans or receptacle are adapted to be stacked. one on the other. This is permissible by reason of the lid or closure being countersunk in the top of the can or receptacle thus providing clearance for the bottom of the superposed can or receptacle. At times stacked cans are subjected to vibration, particulai'lyduring shipment and a can bottom will shift ona-can" top and endanger the stacked 'forntat on? 6 f the cans. often resulting in lids or closures thereof being displaced and the'los contents ofthe can or receptacle.

My invention aims to provide a lid orclosure fastener which will prevent shifting of surperposed or stacked cans or receptacles. the fasteners including portions which. besides reinforcing and adding rigidity to the fasteners, extend into bottom portions of an adjacent or stacked can to' cooperate with the configuration of the can bottom in preventing, to a great extent, lateral shifting of the stacked can.

My invention further aims to provide a lid or closure fastener for loosely or frics the tionally mounted lids or closures which will not interfere with such lid or closure being seated or held in the usual manner and the fasteners may be mounted on the cans or receptacles without the use of tools and without injuring or disrupting any part of the can or receptacle.

My invention possesses other advantages that may appear as the construction and use of the fastener is described, and reference will now be had to the drawing wherein- Figure 1 is a lan of a portion of a can having a lid or c osure held by a fastener in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same, showing by dotted lines a portion of a stacked can;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view vided with the fastener;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a detached fastener, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a modified form of fastener.

In the drawing the reference numeral 1 denotes a can which has its upper end edges rolled outwardly to provide a rolled edge or depending annular flange 2 and interlocked with said rolled edge or depending of a can proflange is the rolled edge or upturned flange 3 of a can top 4, said can top being concaveconvex and extending into the end of the can so that the greater part of the can top will be countersunk, The can top has a large concentric opening 5 and the marginal edges of the can top are bent upwardly to provide an upstanding annular flange 6 which surrounds the opening 5 and provides an entrance to the interior of the can.

'.Th e reference. numeral (denotes a lid or closure adapted to frictionally fit on the flange 6 and close the opening 5, said lid or {closure having the greater part thereof depressed or counter sunk, as at 8 so that the lid or closure may be embossed, pressed or otherwise treated to afford raised indicia that may be used as an index to indicate the contents of the can. IVith the lid depressed the raised indicia or index will now protrude above the peripheral edges of the lid and interfere with stacking of cans. v

The reference numeralt) denotes a bottom of a can and the edges of the bottom are interlocked with the bottom edges of the can similar to the connection between the top edges of the can and the top 4, and the bottom 9 is inset to the extent of providing an annular roove or way 10 in the bottom of the can adjacent the edges thereof.

The reference numeral 11 denotes a lid or closure fastener preferably in the form of a slightly bowed metallic strap or member which has hook shaped ends 12 adapted to engage under the edges of the can top 4, as shown in Fig. 2, and by extending transversely of the can top the fastener will enage the edges of the lid 7 and retain said Iid on the flange 6 of the can top. In some instances the fastener may be sufliciently bowed to permit of its being placed down on the can and sprung into position, but in practice I prefer to make or proportion the length of the fastener relative to the diameter of the can top so that said fastener may be laterally shifted on to the can top and as its hook shaped ends are forced into engagement with the edges of the can top, said fastener will be sprung or slightly straightened out to the extent that its inherent tendency to assume normal position causes the hook shaped ends of the fasteners to grip the edges of the can top and remain in engagement therewith. The fastener will be clamped against the edges of the 11d 7 and the lid 7 cannot be removed or become accidentally displaced until the fastener is removed.

The reference numeral 13 denotes raised, embossed or enlarged portions adjacent the ends of the fastener and as shown in Fig. 4 the raised ortions may be oblong with rounded ends or substantiall rectangular with beveled ends, as shown In Fig. 5. In either instance, such raised portions lend rigidity to the fastener and are adapted to extend into the groove 10 of a superposed can, said raised portions serving as centering devices for correctly positioning the superposed can and preventing lateral shifting thereof on the lower can. This is brou ht out in Fig. 2 where it will be noted that esides the fastener retaining the lid on the can it also serves to properly aline the stacked cans. The fastener does not interfere with the placing of wax or other sealing material in the annular groove 14 of the can top t'about the depending flange of the lid 7 and it is in consequence of this fastener that loaded cans may be safely stacked,

stored, shipped, and used for various pur-' poses.

I attach considerable importance to the double use of my can. For instance, a coffee distributor may sell cans of coffee and when the housewife becomes familiar with the nature of the can, she will know that when the can is empty it may be used for canning fruit and other matter. In other words, the double use of the can will assist in selling the product therein, and the empty can does not become waste for the simple reason that it may again be used, either as a container for the original product or as a container for anything that a housewife may care to place in the can, either sealed or unsealed.

It is thought that the utility of my invention will be apparent without further description, and while in the drawing there are illustrated the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that the structural elements are susceptible to such changes as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. The combination of superposed cans, each can having an inset bottom, and a lid fastener on each can engaging in the inset bottom of the can above it to center said can relative to its supporting can.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a can lid fastener made of a single piece of bowed material adapted to extend transversely of a can and be entirely removed therefrom, said fastener having hook shaped ends adapted to frictionally engage under the edges of the can and in so domg tend to flatten out the bowed fastener whereby the inheren tendency of the fastener will be to clamp its ends on the can, said fastener having raised portions adjacent its ends lending rigidity to the ends of said fastener and serving as centering means. for a superposed can.

3. The combination of a can having a counter-sunk lid loosely mounted on the can, and a transversely disposed bowed fastener on the can, engaging the lid and shiftable off and on'the can by lateral movement, said fastener having raised portions serving as centering means for stacked cans.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AMOS G. CANBY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES W. STAUFFIGER. KARL H. BUTLER. 

